A/N: GUYSSSSSS! Please forgive meeeee! Oh, who am I kidding? Ya'll will never forgive me. I haven't posted in a month. I'm not even gonna try explaining. Okay, I'll shut up so that you guys can read.

One thing about Alana was that she was a night owl.

This meaning she could go on the night doing multiple tasks such as finishing her homework, watching Netflix and chilling with a bowl of popcorn, chit-chatting with her friends via text, and even doing her chores.

And she could do all this until 12 midnight without letting her eyelids droop or letting her limbs sway lazily.

But when the sun rises and the time to actually do something productive comes, Alana wouldn't even move an inch on her bed.

In short, it took great skill to get Alana to wake up on time. Unfortunately, no one claimed the title of having the skill to 'wake Alana up on time' today. And unfortunately for Alana, she was late for training.

She hurriedly threw a bunch of vegetables onto the poor triangular slice of bread in an attempt to make a "healthy breakfast". At the same time she combed her black mane ferociously, barely letting any of the teeth of the plastic comb survive.

"Shoot, shoot, shoot..." She cursed as one tooth of her pathetic comb came off. Right now, she was splattering mayonnaise all over the bread in no particular design.

She checked the clock and realized that it was already 7:42. "What the heck?!" She muttered. "I could've sworn it was only 7:35!"

"Alana! Stop screaming!" Her mother screamed from her bedroom. "You'll lose your voice if you're too loud!"

Alana rolled her eyes. "I wasn't screaming, mom. I was only slightly raising my voice."

This was a typical morning in the Hudgens' household, despite only having two members. It was always a scream fest.

See, Alana's mother, Evelyn Hudgens, was a manager of a dance studio. And just like any typical manager, Evelyn was presentable, poised, and sometimes strict. She always had two frequent moods: 'screaming at everything' and 'creepy calm'. Sometimes, she was both, and that frightened Alana.

"Then calm down, at least! I'm sure your math camp directors or whatever will understand your tardiness!" Evelyn shouted again.

Alana remained silent, concentrating on finishing her sandwich while at the same time recalling the combinations Natasha had suggested to her yesterday.

She finally topped the sandwich with another triangular slice of bread. She shook of the breadcrumbs on her hands, slipped her delicacy into a Ziploc, and threw it into her bag.

"I'm gonna go now, mom." Alana said, heading to the door.

Her mom stepped out of the room, her black curls that mirrored her daughter's flowing down her shoulders like a beautifully dark waterfall.

"You're taking the bus again?" Evelyn said. "You know, I can take you there, myself."

Alana shook her head. "No need." She walked back to her mom and kissed her cheek.

Her mom crossed her arms. "Okay. Just remember: no talking to strangers—"

"—no matter what they tell you." Alana finished.

"Also, don't forget to—"

"—Keep your personal belongings in tact."

"And—"

"—don't get involved in any form of violence." Alana sighed. "Trust me, mom. I'm more independent than you think."

The corners of Evelyn's mouth turned upwards. "I know."

With nothing else left to be said, Alana turned to the main door again and left.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Alana turned around, slashing her temporary weapon, a thick pole, at Natasha.

Natasha dodged her attack effortlessly. She responded to Alana with two light punches at the stomach.

Unfortunately, when Black Widow gives you 'light' punches, the impact is enough to knock someone down.

Alana pushed herself up into a sitting position with her hands. "I thought we were just sparring and not getting into an actual fight." She muttered.

The spy laughed dryly. "Your pain tolerance needs to increase if you want to be released into the battlefield."

Alana huffed, finally getting herself onto her feet.

"Come on," Natasha said. "You still haven't won a single sparring match against me."

"Of course I haven't! You're the freaking Black Widow!"

Natasha tapped her index finger onto her chin as if thinking thoroughly. "Of course. How could I forget."

Alana raised an eyebrow. Before she could ask, Natasha looked up and said, "Hey, Friday. Bring in Fighting Dummy 729, if you don't mind."

"Uh, who's Frida—"

"As you wish, Ms. Romanoff."

Alana jumped, nearly losing her balance. She looked to Natasha for answers.

"Friday's this artificial intelligence Tony Stark created in place of J.A.R.V.I.S., who is currently Vision."

Alana looked at Vision, who was sitting down on a bench, chatting with Wanda animatedly. She decided not to ask more questions knowing she'll end up getting even more confused.

She was so caught up with her thoughts, she didn't realize that right beside her was a pure white, human-shaped robot. Due to her encounter with Ultron Jr. three days ago, Alana instinctively raised her pole in defense.

"Since I'm way too advanced to be a compatible match for you, you will be fighting with this robot Tony Stark also made." Natasha explained. "You can adjust its settings to make it milder or wilder."

"Let's go with milder." Alana said.

Natasha nodded, hoping the android got that command.

"Initiating beginner combat mode. Level one." Fighting Dummy 729 raised its artificial arms in a fighting stance. "Are you ready?"

"You know, you could've given me an easier time by making me spar against him during the past three days." Alana told Natasha, mirroring the robot's stance.

Natasha shrugged. "I needed to teach you all the basic moves and give you the idea of making good combinations physically."

Alana looked back at the robot and put on her meanest game face. She started off with a simple roundhouse kick to the head.

Fighting Dummy caught Alana's leg with its hand and pushed it back down lightly. Fortunately, it wasn't 'Black Widow' lightly.

Alana tried again with another kick, this time aiming for the side of the robot's stomach. Fortunately, she was able to hit the robot, moving it an inch to the side.

The robot easily recovered and directed a similar kick to Alana's side stomach. She remembered the most recent combination Natasha taught her. It involved locking the opponent's leg with one arm, elbow-punching the knee downwards, then spinning to give another elbow punch to the face. Alana performed this quickly, sending Fighting Dummy to the floor.

Natasha nodded in approval. This distracted Alana, giving Fighting Dummy time to give a sneak attack. He swept Alana off her feet with its legs.

"Ow," Alana muttered. "And to think this was beginner mode..."

She tried to get up, but Fighting Dummy beat her to this and kicked her back down. Alana suddenly remembered the pole she was still gripping onto. She smacked the robot's knee.

It brought up its leg and held onto it for a moment like any human would do in a similar situation. Alana took this chance to jump back up and punch the robot in its permanent pale face.

Fighting Dummy was sent backwards, then it came to a pause.

Confused, Alana looked at Natasha. Natasha held out her hand, gesturing her to wait.

"Level one completed." Fighting Dummy spurted out. "Initiating level two." The robot raised its arms and started chopping the air wildly. Then it started moving forward.

"Uh, Natasha..."

"This will teach you to dodge attacks." Natasha said.

Alana gulped. The robot was only feet away from killing Alana. Fortunately, in the nick of time, Alana's senses came in. She ducked the attacking pair of arms as it arrived.

She shot back up and counterstroke one arm with her pole. She bended it downwards, twisting Fighting Dummy's arm in a disturbing angle. The robot seemed unbothered by this because he twisted his arm back in the right way.

The robot clenched its fists and began punching endlessly. Alana dodged each and every one of them, returning the punches after every bend.

After a few more moves, level three was then activated.

"This is easier than I thought." Alana commented.

"Don't speak too soon." Natasha warned.

Fighting Dummy came at Alana at walking speed, which befuddled Alana.

"Huh." She said. "What's up with th—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Fighting Dummy was suddenly standing right in front of Alana. He knee-kicked Alana at the gut, sending her downwards.

Alana clutched her stomach, the world before her spinning. She hissed in pain.

"Come on, Alana. Focus." Natasha encouraged.

Alana blinked again and then remembered what she was supposed to do. Except she didn't know how to execute it.

She looked up at the robot, who was looking down at Alana, ready to fight. She shifted her glance toward Natasha. Then Alana's brain swarmed with memories of the many combinations Natasha had demonstrated to her.

She spun her legs, aiming to knock the robot onto his legs. But she didn't make a full 360° rotation. Fighting Dummy remained unmoved. Alana tried the move again and was successful. She jumped right up, lifting her fists to chin level in a fighting stance.

The robot got up almost too quickly and sent a fist toward Alana. Alana docked to the side, grabbed its arm, and made the robot face the floor. She knee kicked his gut and elbow punched its back.

Apparently, that wasn't enough to knock the robot out. Its system was now stronger than earlier.

Fighting Dummy shot right back up. Its legs alternatively kicked Alana's sides. The whole thing went by so fast, Alana wasn't able to defend herself. She just so happened to lock a leg after a couple of hits.

She tried to repeat the elbow-punch-to-the-knee-spin-elbow-punch-to-the-face combo. Unfortunately, she missed the robot's face since it managed to move its head aside.

Alana lost her balance somehow and then fell face-first onto the floor. It was then she began to realize that Fighting Dummy had become slicker, quicker, and trickier.

She turned her body so that she was facing upward. Before she could stand up, the robot stepped on her stomach, pinning her downwards. She aggressively tried to remove the foot, but with all her strength, she couldn't.

A crazy idea came up and Alana immediately regretted following it. She bit the metal leg, instantly drawing back her mouth (A/N: why can't I make it make more sense?). She was glad her teeth didn't crack and was also glad the robot lifted its leg in confusion.

The girl pushed herself back up and gave the robot a punch in the face. Alana looked at Natasha, not really knowing why. Then she got an idea.

She channeled all the Black Widow-ness in her and tried to perform all the combinations Natasha had thought her. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. She wasn't being Black Widow enough,

She decided to go behind the robot's back and attempted to do a choke hold on his neck with her arm. But the robot kept twisting around, making it hard for Alana to properly execute her plan.

Soon enough, Alana lost her grip on Fighting Dummy. At that moment, Fighting Dummy turned to the left, tossing Alana toward the nearest wall.

She slumped to the floor, all her limbs feeling as limp as a noodle. Her vision started to fade away.

No. She refused to black out just yet. This was only level three. She slowly got herself back up her feet and dashed toward the robot. Honestly, though, she had no idea what to do.

Just before she could slam herself onto the robot and make a complete fool of herself, a flying, metallic disk came flying at her direction. Well, at least that's what she thought.

The disk sliced the robot's chest, putting it to a stop. The disk made a clang sound as it dropped on the floor.

Alana's heart beat so fast, it almost popped out of her chest. She was frozen, unable to move or think or do anything.

The robot in front of her, who once moved at lighting speed minutes ago, was now as dull as a coloring book without colors. Its chest was now torn in half, wires that resembled tiny, colorful snakes. It looked far from functional.

"Sweet!" Josh said, breaking the silence. He ran to the damaged site and picked up his weapon. "I think I'm getting the hang of this superhero-ing."

"Good for you," Alana muttered bitterly.

"Level three completed." Fighting Dummy buzzed, despite its state. "Initiating level fo—"

"Stop, stop! Please stop." Alana begged.

Immediately, the robot shut down, not making any other movements.

"What the frick?!" Natasha exclaimed, entering the scene. "I just left for two minutes to drink some water and then I see this?"

Josh raised his hand sheepishly. "Sorry. This was my doing. The disk kinda went into the wrong direction."

Natasha sighed. "Well, at least Tony made 728 other Fighting Dummies." She placed her hand on Josh's shoulder. "Good job, Josh."

Josh grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks." Natasha didn't return the smile.

Alana looked down, rubbing her arm. "Do I, uh, still have to spar with another Fighting Dummy?"

The spy looked at the clock above the door. "Time's up already. We'll continue again tomorrow." And with that, Natasha walked out with a poker face.

"Gosh darn it." Alana mumbled. "It's already been three days and I still can't become like Black Widow."

"Cheer up, Lana—"

"Don't call me 'Lana'. You're not my friend, therefore you don't have the rights to call me that." Alana said bluntly.

"Okay, yiesh, Princess. Anyway, like I said, cheer up. I'm pretty sure Natasha didn't become a deadly assassin in such time." Josh said. "But I became a bad-a superhero in such time, so you basically gotta look up to me."

Alana raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Destroying a robot doesn't count as being 'bad-a superhero', in my book."

"Debbie Downer."

"Six-piece Chicken Mc-Nothing."

"What the heck?"

Bzzt. Alana felt a vibration in her pocket. She reached into and grabbed her phone. She turned it on for the first time since Monday (she still kept it in her pocket just in case, though). On the screen flashed one message sent from Lila McAdams.

'Hey where r u? Its almost 5'

Alana's nimble thumbs moved around the keyboard, composing a message of her own.

'Ill b there. W8'

"Ah, crabapples." Alana muttered in real life, placing her phone back in her pocket. She ran off to the bench were she placed her backpack.

"Where are you going?" Josh asked.

"I have gymnastics lessons today and I nearly forgot." Alana explained, slinging her backpack's onto her shoulders.

"Hah, loser. You forgot your own schedule." Josh teased.

Alana gave him a quick punch in the shoulder. "Shut up. I'm gonna leave." She exited the training area, running as fast as she could.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

In all the times she's attended gymnastics lessons, Alana has never been late. Not even by a minute. But due to her training, her 'punctual-student' reputation was now stained.

Luckily, she had worn her leotard and tights underneath her training outfit before leaving the house, so all she had to do was remove her training clothes.

She ran as fast as she could from the bus stop to the gymnastics studio. She finally arrived at the glass door that had the logo plastered on it: a girl spinning a piece of ribbon around her body.

Alana pushed the door open and dropped her bag amongst the other numerous bags on the floor. She noticed the others were already done with their warm-ups and were now practicing their moves on the balance beam one by one.

She tried to blend in and fall in line like she didn't arrive, but one of her gymnastics coach, Ms. Zoe, caught her.

"Alana." She called. She wasn't usually strict, which made her a favorite coach amongst students. Alana was glad it was her teaching them today.

Alana turned her head and sighed. "I know, I know. I came in late. Sorry."

"Alana, it's unlike you to be tardy." Ms. Zoe stated, approaching her student. "Where have you been?"

"Uh, Math Camp." Alana said, relieved she didn't say "training to become an Avenger".

"Math Camp? So you're a math fan?"

"Apparently." Alana muttered.

Ms. Zoe raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, yes." Alana corrected.

Ms. Zoe sighed. "As much as we are close, Alana, you still need to make up for your tardiness."

Alana looked down. "I know."

"That's 20 push-ups for you."

"Yes, ma'am." Alana got on the floor and started pushing her body upwards and downwards with her fists.

Once she was done, her stomach was already churning oddly. Alana swore she could feel her abdomen forming a six-pack. She ignored the pain and fell in line once again. After about five people in front of her, she saw her friends Lila and Kalliope falling in line as well.

She waited for them to notice her, which took a while. Finally, a fellow gymnast alerted the two girls of Alana's presence. They turned their necks and at the sight of Alana, their jaws dropped and their eyes widened.

Alana gave a small wave in greeting.

Lila was the first to shake out of her surprise. She mouthed the words 'We need to talk.'

Alana raised her hand in a gesture that told them 'Wait. Later.'

And so they talked during break time afterwards, but not before Lila and Kalliope tackled Alana in a hug. Apparently, that hug was a surprise hug coming from behind, which kicked off Alana's new instincts to fight back with an elbow punch. If Kalliope hadn't said anything, Alana's friends would've been dead.

"Oh my gosh!" Kalliope exclaimed. "I'm super glad to see you again!"

Alana returned her friend's smile. "The feeling's mutual."

"Where have you been?!" Lila asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Math Camp." Alana replied.

"I mean, I know that. Josh told me. But, like, where have you been when you weren't at Math Camp? You never answered my texts or calls!"

"Sorry, Lila. I guess I've been so tired of Math Camp, I've never found the time to bother check my phone."

"Well," Lila paused to gulp down some of her water, "at least you're here now." She wrapped her arms around each of her friends' shoulders.

"Alana!" Ms. Zoe called.

Alana turned her head to see fellow gymnast, Nica, still standing on the balance beam, Ms. Zoe standing on the floor beside her.

Alana walked toward them. "Yes, Ms. Zoe?"

"Mind demonstrating to Nica how a hand-walk on a balance beam looks like?" Ms. Zoe asked. "Y'know, for reference?"

Alana shrugged. "Sure." Nica got off the balance beam to give Alana space, so Alana got up. She took a deep breath, then did a handstand, careful to keep her balance. She ignored the throbbing pain on her abdomen and began to walk all the way to the end of the beam with her hands. She got back to her feet with grace.

"There," Alana said, catching her breath. Her limbs ached more than ever.

Nica looked at her in amazement. "Thanks, Alana!" She turned to Ms. Zoe. "I understand now." She then went back up the balance beam and attempted to do the same.

Ms. Zoe looked at Alana, her grey eyes sparkling. "You've improved quite well, Alana. Have you been practicing at home?"

Alana shrugged. "I guess you could say that."

Ms. Zoe placed a hand on her student's shoulder. "Alana, I've always seen potential in you. Keep up the good work." With that, she walked away to attend to another student.

Never in her life has Alana felt so good about herself. She was rarely complimented about anything. She appreciated Ms. Zoe for being one of the few people to admire her. Alana walked back to her friends with a proud smile.

"Alana, that was amazing!" Kalliope exclaimed, giving Alana another hug.

Lila nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," Alana shrugged nonchalantly.

"Now, back to the topic." Lila said. "We need to hang-put again sometime."

"Tomorrow, at 5:30?" Alana suggested.

"Uh..." Lila's cheeks flushed red. "But I'm kinda meeting someone tomorrow at 6."

Kalliope grinned, leaning closer to Alana to whisper. "Josh asked her out on a date."

"A hang-out, Kalliope." Lila corrected. "Besides, you would've known this if you'd read my texts, Alana."

Alana ignored that last comment. "You what?! Lila, that's great!" Lila would never admit it out loud, but Alana knew Lila had some feelings for the guy.

"Eh," Lila waved her hand dismissively. "It's no biggie. Anyway, when can we meet?"

"Okay, guys, break time's over!" Ms. Zoe announced. All the gymnasts came rushing back toward the line behind the balance beam.

"Let's decide later." Alana said. "Right now, I'd like to improve my gymnastic skills."

A/N: AHHHHDHSKKSHSHSBXJSKSKKSKSUSHSJ THOR: RAGNAROK SHSJISKAJAHAHSID I FINALLY GOT TO WATCH IT YAS IM SO HAPPY JDJSJSJDBDBS BUT SO MUCH EMOTIONS? Okay I'll sleep now bye.

Ruby out. PEACE.